How cute is she!?!

My half eaten turkey from my first EVER turkey dinner. It was YUUUUMY! 

Finally I was able to get some pictures up here. And here is my Gingerbread House pics that I promised.

It was my first one EVER, so don't laugh;)  

Sorry it's kinda blurry

COFFEE!!!

Chris gets a free pound of coffee a week through work. Which is fun because each week we get a different kind. Sometimes we send them out to other people, but I am learning more and more that drinking a pound of coffee a week between two people is really not that difficult. Anyway, we are just finishing off a pound of Gold Coast! YUMMY! Which is Aileen's favorite and now I know why. I guess you could say Chris and I are a little addicted to our coffee, but I mean how can you not be. Between the free pound a week and the 30% discounts in the stores it really isn't our fault. And don't forget Chris gets free drinks all day long at work...a Gingerbread Latte here, a Peppermint Mocha there....and he wonders why he is always up so late at night! lol. All this talk about coffee makes me think I should change the name of my blog to something coffee related. hmmmmm!?!? Any ideas?

Blah Blah Blah

I know I know.....I haven't blogged in a while. Partly cause of the computer issue we have and partly cause well...who really reads this anyways. I mean honestly...I know Dave and Lori read it, but after that blah. Anywho maybe it is cause our lives are so boring there is nothing interesting to tell you about. Like this weekend, boring and uneventful. Went to church, watched the Superbowl. It is really no wonder there is never any feedback or comments except from Lori and Dave. Ok I am done whining now, and I am outtie!

Homestar Runner

I am not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I highly suggest you all check out the following website. It may just be the greatest website EVER! Strongbad is personally my favorite, you decide for yourself who is your favorite on Homestar Runner!!! Enjoy!

Off To School I Go...

As most of you probably already know, I am planning on going back to school in the near future. I have always wanted to work with animals and I want to go back to school and become a Veterinary Technician. This can be a 2, 3 or 4 year program, depending on what you choose. For me at this time in my life I think the 2 year program would be best. Anyways the school that I was going to go to here in the Boston area no longer offers the course. There are only 3 other schools in MA that offer the program. One of them is in Newton which is only about 20 minutes from us, but the problem is they only offer the 3 year associate degree or the 4 year bachelor degree. The other 2 are over an hours drive from us. I guess it's not that bad, there a thousands of people who make that kind of commute every day. The other option that I have is to do an online program. Basically what happens is they send you the course work, and you send it back and really are open to working at your own pace. For labs and hands on things you are paired with a veterinarian in your area and they oversee that aspect of it. This is not totally out of the question I suppose, the one benefit from it would be that I could do the 3 year in 2. Anyways I am not sure yet, I need to really look into all the options and pray about it before I make a final decision. Either way I am excited about it.....

Good Read

I recently finished reading a book called The Sacred Romance:Drawing Closer to the Heart of God by John Eldridge and Brent Curtis. Go check out the link and read the review on Amazon.com. I just wanted to say that it is a great book, I think any of you would take a lot from it. That is all......

Finding a Church to Call Home!

Chris and I have been looking for months to find a church to call "home", we have been to quite a few different ones. Looking for a new church is a tough thing and we were getting so frustrated. We had been going to this one not far from our house, it was a great church and we loved the pastor but it just wasn't doing anything for us. There was not a lot of people our age and we didn't enjoy the worship. So this past week we started talking about finding yet another church to try out. So I got online and started searching through website after website till I finally came across one for a church in Cambridge called Hope Fellowship Church. As I was reading through the different information on the website the more I wanted to check this church out. So I emailed the pastor to ask him a few questions and decided we would go there on Sunday. So we went yesterday and it was wonderful. We were 20 minutes late mind you, but that was because of the fact there was nowhere to park on the street cause of all the snow...we ended up parking like 4 blocks away in a grocery store parking lot. Anyways the pastor was great, we enjoyed the worship and there seemed to be a lot of people our age and quite a few couples. It so happened that yesterday they were having a lunch after the service downstairs for the young s to talk about the new small groups that are starting up next week. And yes we qualify as young s....we are only 27...geez!! We had a good time, and it was a great opportunity to meet new people, which we did. We will be going back next Sunday and will give one of the small groups a try. We just really had a great feeling after we left there yesterday, we have not felt that with any of the churches that we have gone to since being here. It just felt like we were in the right place, and everything seemed to fit. The great thing is that there is so much going on at the church right now that we have so many opportunities to jump in and get involved and meet people. Anyway, we are both very excited about this church and look forward to learning more about it and the people there.

Let It Snow...Let It Snow....Let It Snow!!!

It has been a while again since I have had the computer run long enough to post something on here. So here I try again.....

The snow out here has been crazy, after the big storm last weekend it snowed again during the week like another 8 or so inches. So it has been a fun week of shoveling. Driving is crazy, not cause the roads are slippery but cause there is so much snow packed like a wall on either side of the roads. Sidestreets are a real trick cause they are like one lane roads, but there really isn't room to move out of the way if a car is coming the other way. It definitely makes things interesting. Chris has his fun by throwing Belle in the deep snow so she pretty much sinks and has to swim her way out, it's pretty funny. I promise I will get pictures up as soon as I can.

I know this post was short and not very exciting, but this is what you get when I am trying to post fast so the computer doesn't freeze. If you want excitement, read Lori's blog!! LOL!!

I think I Got Lost In a Snow Drift

So I finally got what I have been asking for. All through December I complained it hadn't snowed enough. As we got into January the snow started coming more often. And then finally this weekend as I am sure most of you know, Massachusetts had one of the biggest winter storms in the states history. They said it would start snowing around 4 pm on Saturday, and sure enough it did. It continued to snow very heavy through the night and most of Sunday. When all was said and done there was 4 feet in some areas of the state. We had over 2 feet at our place. And because of the wind the snow in our backyard was waste deep and we had to dig our way out of it. After we got out of the yard we spent a good 2 hours digging out Chris's van which was also buried in snow. As bad as this may sound to some of you, especially those of you in Seattle, California and Vancouver it really wasn't...at least for me. Now don't get me wrong, there is a lot of freaking snow outside. But this is a regular thing in Edmonton and the air is much much colder. But it was and is stinkin cold outside, the wind is nasty. I will be sure to take some pictures of the snow in our backyard and stuff and post them just as soon as the computer is running better. Having said all that, it is supposed to snow more this week. WOOHOOO!

Oh and one more thing...yesterday was my Dad and Lynne's one year anniversary. For those of you who don't know who Lynne is.....she is my stepmom who my dad married last year. I have never met her (odd I know), but from what I hear she is wonderful. So congratulations to them:)

As Lori once said....A Thundering I go!!!

We have this stupid cement step thing that is carpeted in the hallway leading to our living room from our kitchen. We have been here for 4 months almost and neither of us (or the dog) have ever tripped over it. We knew it was only a matter of time before one of us took a tumble. Well last night one of us did, and it was ME. Chris was getting ready to leave (he worked some overtime last night), and I was in the kitchen cleaning up the dishes and stuff. As I was coming back to the living room I somehow tripped on this darn thing. And I had Chris's cell phone in my hand so for some dumb reason I wanted to protect the phone and didn't put both hands out to catch myself. Yeah so I went crashing face first into the ground. On the way down I slammed my shoulder into the wall. It was GREAT! So I got some bruises and my shoulder along with the rest of me is sore sore sore.

Computer's Are NOT My Friend!!

Last night we finally got to the computer store to get a new hard drive. We decided to get a used one just to see if the hard drive is even the problem in the first place. So we got one for 16 bucks. Anyways we got home and proceeded to put it in the computer and TRY to install XP again. Only to find it freezing and doing the same stuff as before. So we ended up having to put the old hard drive back in. We will return the one we got last night and now we are going to have to get a new mother board. Ugh! We knew it was one or the other, we had just really hoped it was the hard drive since they are cheaper to replace. So it is back to being frustrated with the computer freezing and or not loading for us.

Have I mentioned we are going to Orlando? LOL! Just checking;) Can you tell I am excited!?

It is yet another very cold day, this morning we woke up to -20 f with windchill. brrrr! And we have another big storm coming our way on Saturday. Call me crazy, but I love every second of it. My three years spent in Vancouver BC and Seattle was depressing in the winter time. I grew up in -20 to -40 degrees celius my whole life in the winter. So to move somewhere where it rarely snowed and just rained ALL the time SUCKED! ha! So I am happy to be somewhere again that has REAL winter.

If Your Friend's Can't Sing, Don't Tell Them They Can

Another crisp winter day today here in Boston. We complained all of December that there was no snow, well the snow is sure showing itself as of late. Not that I am complaining, I love it. But snow and cold brings excitement for summer. Most notably our trip to Florida in May. Speaking of which, Chris and I were very happy to find out the Seattle Mariner's (baseball) will be in Tampa bay on the weekend of the 27-29. Of course it just happens to be when we are down in Orlando, so yes Chris and I will be heading to Tampa bay on the 27th to watch our Mariner's.

On a totally different note.....The only part of American Idol I tend to like is the auditions that are aired in the first few weeks. And while watching you have to wonder, what kind of friends do these people have that actually encourage them to go try out for this thing. I mean, some of these people were just flat out embarrassing, and yet they thought they could sing SO good. And really all you can do is laugh, there were quite a few that just made Chris and I lose it. All I know is if my friends or family told me I was so good and sent me on my way to an audition like that only to be completely humiliated...there would be hell to pay!!

Cheap Milk at the Corner Store??

So last night around 10 PM Chris and I realized we were out of milk, we got all bundled up and trekked out into the cold night to go to the grocery store. When we get there there is a sign on the door that says "Winter Hours 8 am-10 pm". Now the annoying thing was not so much the fact they were already closed, it was the fact we didn't know that cause they are normally open till midnight. I didn't realize people who work at the grocery store are that wussy that they actually have to close early in the winter. Anyway, as we were driving back home we decided to pull into the corner store near our house knowing we needed milk yet grumbling about how much we were going to have to pay for it at the store. To our surprise, it was ON SALE...a 2 litre (gallon) was $2.19. AT THE CORNER STORE. We both nearly fell over in shock. At the grocery store they are almost 4 dollars. So yes, it was a pleasant surprise. That was our eventful evening, exciting I know.

It is another cold day out east. Brrrrrr! I think it was 6 degrees or so when I took Belle out this morning. You know it is cold out when she runs down the stairs and goes to the bathroom as fast as she can and runs at top speed back inside and under the blankets. The thing I love about cold winters is that when summer comes it is so much more exciting. Speaking of warmer weather, only 121 days till we are off to sunny Florida. We leave May 19th, 4 months from today. Woooohooo!!

Good Morning

The most frustrating thing about having a computer that doesn't run properly is how random it chooses to be. I mean really, if your a hard drive and you don't work....THEN DON'T WORK!!!! It is like it teases me, you can almost hear it saying..." you can check your email "go ahead and blog" and then BAM it's frozen. LOL. Ok so that is my daily I hate my computer rant. Moving on....

It has been pretty cold lately, which makes me very very happy. I missed real winters when I was in Vancouver and Seattle. And sure it doesn't get as cold here as it does back home in Edmonton but it still gets cold enough. The last few nights have been super cold. The kind of cold that chills you right to the bone. Like when you go out to get in the car and your back hurts from shivering. It sounds terrible, but I love it. It's part of winter. And the best part is the snow has been on the ground for a while now. I love looking out the window in the morning to see beautiful white snow blanketed over everything.

I have to brag for a minute also and point out that I have lost 5 more pounds. WOOHOOOO!!! I know that may not sound like much to some people cause I have a long way to go, but for me that is HUGE and very very encouraging:)

Ok, time to end this before the computer freezes....knock on wood!!! Hopefully I will be back tomorrow.

Just a warning...

Ok so I had some weird ad posted on my site today. I am not sure what it was...I deleted it, but for future if you see any weird web addresses posted or anything don't click on it. It is pretty sad when the porn industry has to advertise by posting on people's personal sites. So sorry if any of you clicked on the website.

And So Goes the Battle.....

I know I talk a lot about weight loss, but that is one of the biggest things in my life right now. It's a struggle everyday to make the right choices. Even the little ones are so huge, like drinking water and not juice that is full of sugar or pop or whatever. I will say that not eating junk food is much easier for me than I thought it would be. I think mostly that is because when I was growing up my parents never bought a lot of chips, cookies and pop and stuff. Stuff like that was more of a "treat" for us on the weekends. Which is probably the biggest reason I was always very healthy and in great shape most of my life. So to make the decision now to not eat that stuff is not as hard as I imagine it is for some people. Where my problem lies is mostly within the meals that I eat. Now I cook dinner for us every night, but unfortunately sometimes when you are busy you go for the "quick" meals. Pasta always seems to fall into this category. Which we all know that too much pasta is the worst thing for someone trying to lose weight. I am losing weight, but once I start cooking healthier I know it will help so much more. Losing weight is a hard road to travel down, especially when there is negativity coming from certain people. Although maybe this negativity is in a way a good thing, maybe it drives me more to reach my goal and show people and myself that I can do this and I will do this. Another hard thing is that I think when a lot of people gain weight they sometimes lose some of who they used to be. I think for me that happened a little. I have always been known as the loud and outgoing person. I used to have so much confidence. But now I find myself less confident, much more quiet. I look forward to regaining my confidence, and refinding that outgoing person I have always been. Ok so that was a lot of rambling about weightloss. My apologies, but like I said it is a big part of who I am right now.

And here's to hoping we will have a new hard drive this week sometime and we will be up and running on a regular basis:)